A Hetalia Christmas Carol
by CanadasOpposite
Summary: Arthur Kirkland is a Scrooge-esque man with a strong hate of Christmas. He won't stay like that for long, thanks to the three Spirits Francis, Peter and Ludwig!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I am really stupid. I left without telling you all, and I'm sorry D: But I'm back now with my own A Hetalia Christmas Carol. ouo I started it not that long ago, and I'm getting a lot of positive feedback on it. ^^ So please read and review, if it's not too much to ask! Now onto the story~!

"M-Mister Kirkland?" the golden-haired American called from his desk. He worked for one of the meanest moneybrokers in the whole of London, Arthur Kirkland. It was one of the harshest winters the city had faced in a number of years, with Christmas creeping up ever so slowly. This made the Brit's icy heart colder than the Artic Circle. He despised Christmas, as there were too many bad memories surrounding that particular holiday. As he walked between the desks of his workers, he approached the American that had called him. "What is it, ...?" he began, unable to remember the name of this plucky employee.

"Jones, sir. Alfred Jones," he replied.

"Yes. Well, Jones, what did you disrupt me for? I have a lot to do, and you're just delaying that!" the miserly Englishman barked.

"W-well, as you'll probably know by now, tomorrow is Christmas Day and I was wondering-" Jones began, but Arthur cut his sentence short.

"If you could get the day off, I presume?" he emotionlessly asked. The American nodded. "Well, I want to spend Christmas with my family. You see, my brother isn't well and me and my partner have been caring for him for a few years now, and every Christmas we've had a traditional dinner, and I'd hate if that didn't happen this year, so if you'd be so kind as to give us all the day off tomorrow?"

"Fine...but you had better come to work an hour earlier the next day, or I'll dock your annual salary!"

"O-Of course, sir!" After this discussion, Kirkland skulked back to his office. The office was as lonely as its owner, filled only by a desk, an armchair and several bookcases. Kirkland had once shared this office with two fine young men as cold as himself- the Vargas brothers. Lovino and Feliciano Vargas had moved from Venice in sunny Italy to London, after their grandfather died and they were forced to find another way to make a living, so they decided to try and make something of themselves in the English capital. The two had took Arthur on as an apprentice when he was not long out of his schooling career. Unfortunately, two years ago, they had went on a business trip to their homeland of Italy, but never made it as their boat unexpectedly crashed into another and sunk. Kirkland had since then taken over the business, seeing as there were no known Vargases residing in London, and he was a partner in the business anyway. It was a mistake making him the business owner. He was cruel, with no regards to the emotions of his workers. I'm no expert on these things, but this might have happened after his family left him because of his cruelty after the one he had loved had left. I can tell you this though, he changed! It all happened in one night, and if you don't believe me now, you'll believe me soon, my friend!


	2. Chapter 2

It was getting late, and Kirkland still hadn't closed up the business for the night, so plucky young Alfred decided that he'd have to go directly to his boss to ask if they could go home yet. "Careful, Alfred, he's got a beastly temper whenever we ask," Toris whispered as the American walked past his desk. Toris and his friend Feliks worked here, side by side. "I'll try, but careful's not the first thing you think of when you're talking about Mr Kirkland," he replied. He took a deep breath and knocked on the office door. A low grumble, then the moneybroker called for Alfred to enter. "Ah, Jones, what do you want? Have you finished the accounts I gave you?" he asked when his employee entered the office.

"Yes, sir, and I was wondering if maybe me, Toris, Feliks and Yao could go home to our families yet?" Alfred chittered, as the temperature was sub-zero. A low grumble once again. Arthur leant back in his chair, then straightened up once again. "You may, but remember, if on Boxing Day you're not here an hour earlier, I dock your annual pay, and everyone else's too," he muttered. The warm-hearted American smiled slightly. He bowed slightly to thank his boss, and as he did so, a tear sprang to Arthur's eye. That bow...it was similar to the one his love would always execute whenever they met. "Now, I've given you permission to go home, so go!" he barked. As soon as Jones had scurried out of the office, his boss looked around the office. A long sigh preceded a walk around the perimeter of the office, with Kirkland trying to rid his head of painful memories. The Christmas his love had left him was the most prominent. He missed her silken black hair and her chocolate-colored eyes, her politeness and regard for another's feelings. Most of all though, he missed her assuring him that he would be her one and only love. Now...now she was gone. He decided that, as his employees had already departed to their own abodes, he should be on his way home. He removed his coat from the stand and retrieved his bag that had everything business related inside. Once he stepped outside and locked the door, the December wind hit him like a slap in the face. He grudgingly pulled up the collar of his coat and began the walk home. It was nightfall now, so no-one was outside apart from a few stragglers still walking aimlessly around. Kirkland saw a few homeless people sitting around a small fire, attempting to extract enough warmth from the crackling flame. This disgusted the cold-hearted Brit, so he began to walk faster.

At long last, he reached his home, and as he dug in his pockets for his key, he was certain he heard the voice of the late Lovino Vargas. He looked around, hoping to see that someone was simply pulling a prank on him, but no such person was within view. He shrugged it off and opened his door, stepping inside. Shaken slightly by the supernatural occurrence outside, he proceeded to checking that all lamps in his home were lit, and when he was certain they were, he secluded himself in his vast yet empty bedroom. "It's all in your head, Arthur, all in your head," he muttered, trying to reassure himself that there was nothing to fear. He changed into his forest green nightclothes, but before he could clamber into his bed, a frozen wind blew through the house, extinguishing all of the candles. "I-It's just c-coincidence, keep your head on..." he stammered, genuinely frightened now. Suddenly, a happy, high voice rang through the room, announcing "Arthur, it's good to see ya!" He recognised that voice. It couldn't be..._Feliciano Vargas_. Was this another trick of the mind, like hearing Lovino's voice at the door. Kirkland was sent into a tizz when two ghostly imprints appeared before him. They resembled the Vargases. Surely this was all a dream, and he'd wake up any second, in his bed, with nothing whatsoever to fear. "Hey, looks like ya haven't changed a bit since our death, huh?" Lovino's spirit sneered.

"W-why are you tw-two here? I thought you were dead!" the Englishman yelled in panic.

"We are! We're just here to tell ya that-" Feliciano began, but Lovino silenced him.

"Our greed in life gave us shackles we'll never lose. Look!" Lovino admitted, holding up his and his brother's wrists, revealing chains around them. "And the same fate awaits you if you don't change. So...OK, now, Feli, go!"

"You'll be visited by 3 spirits, and they're gonna show ya different parts of your life, and if that doesn't change ya...well, you'll see!" Feliciano yelled with a cheery voice. "Oh, and the first spirit'll appear at the stroke of one, OK?" With that, the spectres dissipated into the air, leaving Arthur shaken and confused. This was all a terrible nightmare, that had to be it! Little did he know, this was all too real!


End file.
